Soldier Field is a stadium that opened in 1924. It has primarily served as the home field of the Chicago Bears professional football club for over four decades, but it also hosted numerous other events in its more than 100 years of existence.

Annual events Current Special Olympics Chicago (1968–2001 and 2003–present)

Former American Legion Fourth of July Show Chicagoland Music Festival Chicago College All-Star Game football game (held at Soldier Field 1934–1942 and 1945–1976) Chicago Prep Bowl football game (held at Soldier Field 1927, 1933–2001; 2003–2015) German Day (1925–1937) Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performances in the stadium's parking lot (1931–1932, 1935–1946, 1947–1955) Spring Awakening Music Festival (2012–2015) Tuskegree and Wilberforce University football rivalry game (played at Soldier Field 1929–1930, 1933–1936, and 1938–1941) War shows Motorsports competitions

1920s

1924

September 5: The first event at the stadium, a 16-pound hammer throw for the Police Athletic Games" is held a day before the official opening "to avoid any possibility of an accident." Traffic officer John Walsh wins the lone competition with a throw of 132 feet, 10 inches. September 6: opening day on Saturday for the first dedicatory event at the "Grant Park Stadium" an athletics meet with policemen as participants. This event was a fundraiser for the Chicago Police Benevolent Association, which provided support for police widows and officers disabled in the line of action. The meet's official opening ceremony on the second day featured 1,200 police officers parading through the stadium, fireworks, and music by two police bands, among other entertainment. The contests in the event included a chariot race and a game of motorcycle polo. The opening ceremony was attended by 45,000 spectators. Events raising funds for Chicago's Policemen and Firemen Benevolent funds were a mainstay at Soldier Field until 1971. September 10: "Pageant of Music and Light", an additional dedicatory event for the stadium.South Park Commissioners, memorandum (unlabeled) on the "first free use" of the stadium, n.d. (1924), Soldier Field Collection, Special Collections, Chicago Park District Headquarters; speeches folder On September 27: Chicago Daily News-sponsored women's track meet with more than 500 Chicago-area participants. In addition to traditional track and field events, the competition also included such events as a basketball distance throw. October 4: high school American football game between Louisville Male High School and Chicago's Austin Community Academy High School,Chicago Tribune, October 2, 1924 the first football game in the stadium's history.

October 9: "Chicago Day" event, marking the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, attended by a crowd of 60,000. The event contained the formal dedication and official opening of the stadium. The event included military troops partaking in a mock battle, equine performances by riders from the 14th Cavalry's Troop A, and a semi re-enactment of the Great Chicago Fire with firemen (including ten who actually had fought the Great Fire) fighting the fire using Fire King No. 1 (Chicago's first pump engine). In the re-enactment, a cow knocked over a lantern (according to lore), a replica of the O'Leary barn was burned down, and firemen used modern equipment to fight a fire in a mock-up of a three-story building. Following this spectacle there were police drills, performances by two police quartets, and a polo match. The teams in the polo match were led by Chicago Tribune owner Robert R. McCormick and Hotel Sherman manager Frank Bering. McCormick's team won 5–4. November 11: 1924 Midwest Catholic League championship, a College football game between Viator College and Columbia College of Dubuque. The game raised funds for an American Legion fund for disabled veterans. The game ended 0–0. Due to poor weather conditions, its attendance was only 2,000. This was the first college football in the stadium's history.

November 22: Notre Dame Fighting Irish football vs. Northwestern college football game attended by 45,000 spectators. Notre Dame won 13–6. This was the first football game between two major college teams in the stadium's history. Northwestern's Ralph "Moon" Baker (a member of the College Football Hall of Fame) would later say that this game, during which he kicked two field goals (one 34 and the other 36 yards) against the 1924 Notre Dame team that featured the "Four Horsemen", was the greatest thrill of his career. December: state amateur horseshoe pitching tournament sponsored by the Ogden Park Horseshoe Pitching Club and Chicago Playground Council. October 10 (the 53rd anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire): an additional dedication of the stadium was held. Late 1924: South Park commissioners erected an ice rink in the stadium.

1925

April 19: Loyola Relays; for the first time, Soldier Field held the Loyola Relays intercollegiate athletics meet. Paavo Nurmi won many of the events. Nurmi was in the last several weeks of a five-month US tour (during which he participated in 55 competitions) following his performance while completing for Finland at the 1924 Summer Olympics (where he received five gold medals). Also competing was fellow Finnish Olympian Ville Ritola, who was also a United States resident and had traveled with Nurmi during his tour. Nurmi defeated Ritola in the meet. May 9: Soldier Field hosted the South Parks Marble Championship. The tournament included both adult and juvenile competitions. May 22–25: the 65th Reserves and its superior outfit, the Army's Sixth Corps, sponsored the first of numerous military pageants held at Soldier Field. There were two shows a day, airplane fights in the afternoon, searchlights and antiaircraft-mimicking fireworks in the evening. The highlight of the day shows was a radio-dispatched arrangement of warplanes flying over the stadium. Audience members could hear the air-to-ground radio communication via the stadium's state-of-the-art loudspeaker system, and watch the planes respond to the ground command and perform stunts. 25,000 attended the first afternoon show, among them Vice President Charles G. Dawes. The temperature was 92 degrees. The show reenacted the Battle of the Argonne utilizing, among other things, a smoke screen and four tanks. In the first night show's reenactment an infantryman was injured when he was trampled by horses, and prior to that show a policeman partaking in a Roman-style horse race was thrown from his horse and also injured. For the final day wind kept the planes grounded, and the crowd was small due to chilly temperature that peaked near 40 degrees. Nonetheless, entire event was deemed a success. May: Soldier Field held and event dubbed the "first annual Chicago Olympics", an athletics event sponsored by the Finnish-American Athletic Association. Notable male competitors include Finnish five-time Olympic gold medalist (and three-time silver medalist) Ville Ritola, Finnish two-time Olympic gold medalist Jonni Myyrä, American two-time Olympic gold medalist Harold Osborne. Notable female competitors included US Women's Athletics legends Helen Filkey, Norma Zilk, and Nellie Todd (who, along with Zilk, was a protégé of University of Chicago track coach Tom Eck). Norma Filkey set a record in hurdles at the event, Jonni Myyrä set a javelin record at the event, Harold Osborne won as the best overall athlete of the competition, and Ville Ritola won the 2-mile race. Due largely to 90-degree heat only 2,500 spectators attended this event.South Park Commissioners, "Record of Uses, Soldier Field Stadium 1924–1931" ca. 1931; Soldier Field collection, Chicago Park District Headquarters June 13–14 Soldier Field hosted the 1925 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships. Notable competitors included DeHart Hubbard, Morgan Taylor, Glenn Hartranft, Tom Poor, Phil Northrup, Frank Potts, Clifford Ellsworth "Biff" Hoffman, and Hugo Leistner. July 4 and 5: Soldier Field held its first Independence Day celebration.

August 15–24, 1925 the Chicago Association of Commerce sponsored the 1925 Chicago Roundup, a Tex Austin-organized nine-day professional rodeo competition at Soldier Field. Vice President of the United States Charles G. Dawes at the opening ceremonies. The ceremonies were initiated with a parade of participants and officials. Among the officials was Anti-Cruelty Society director Chauncey McCormick, and among the competitors was Pete Knight. 30,000 spectators watched the opening ceremonies, and 100,000 spectators attended the two competitive events held August 15. Daily attendance averaged 70,000 for the competition, one day the combined attendance for two events was 170,000. September 20: Chicago's German-American community held its first annual German Day event at Soldier Field, featuring a soccer match, athletics, performances and ceremonies. The event raised funds for numerous charities. German Day events were held annually at Soldier Field until 1937, regularly drawing crowds in excess of 40,000. November 7 Northwestern played Michigan at Soldier Field. 70,000 tickets had been sold, but just over 40,000 spectators attended due to severely inclement weather. Northwestern won 3–2. November 11: the American Legion and South Park commissioners organized a commemoration of Armistice Day marking the stadium's name change from "Grant Park Municipal Stadium" to "Soldier Field". The day began the firing of guns at sunrise. At eleven in the morning, a 21-gun salute was fired in Chicago's Grant Park and people in the 'Chicago Loop' paused, men removing their hats, and held moment of silent prayer and reflection. In the afternoon, former Governor of Illinois Frank Lowden and naval officer John A. Rodgers were the guests of honor in the ceremonies held at Soldier Field. At the time Rodgers was a national hero, following his attempted nonstop flight two months earlier, and was all-over the news. Lowden had been heavily involved in the effort to rename Soldier Field. Much like Rodgers, Lowden was also a prominent national political figure at the time. The event at Soldier Field began with decorated war veterans escorting Gold Star Mothers to their seats, and a salute fired by field artillery. The Flag of the United States was then raised, followed with a large banner baring the words 'Soldier Field' that had been carried into the stadium by the Gold Star Mothers. This was followed with a parade led by an Army general. The parade featured sailors from the nearby Great Lakes Naval Station, Reserve Officers' Training Corps units, and various veterans groups (including the Grand Army of the Republic). Following the procession of the parade, Rodgers spoke about his attempted non-stop flight. Other speakers included South Park Board-member, and future-mayor, Edward J. Kelley. The ceremony was attended by over 20,000 spectators.Wayne S. Cole, America First: The Battle against Intervention, 1940–41 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1953), pg. 21Edward J. Kelly, Soldier Field dedication speech, November 11, 1925; Soldier Field Collection, Special Collections, Chicago Park District Headquarters; dedications folder

1926 After success of the 1925 Chicago Roundup, Soldier Field hosted another Chicago Roundup in 1926. The 1926 Chicago Roundup was also a great success, even managing to draw 35,000 spectators on a rainy day. June: Soldier Field hosted the 1926 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships. This was the second consecutive edition held at Soldier Field. The event was dubbed "the college Olympics of America". Notable competitors included Bud Houser, Bob King, John Kuck, Herman Brix (later known by his stage-name Bruce Bennet), William Droegemueller, Fred Alderman, Tom Sharkey, Harry Hawkins, Leighton Dye, Ray Conger, Anton Burg, Phil Northrup, George Hester, and George Guthrie.